SEVEN men who were searching for ghosts at a historic plantation have been arrested on charges relating to arson after the building burned to the ground.

The men, aged between 17 and 31, sneaked into the LeBeau Plantation in Louisiana, US on Friday (local time) and were drinking and smoking marijuana while hunting for spirits, police said.

The grand property was built in the 1850s and has long been the subject of haunted house stories.

St. Bernard Sheriff Jimmy Pohlmann told nola.com: "We all heard the ghost stories while growing up. In combination with smoking dope in there, it appears it was intriguing to them."

John Doran from the Sheriff's office said: "They had been looking for ghosts, trying to summon spirits, beating on the floors."

But the men became frustrated when the spirits could not be summoned, according to Mr Doran. Police allege the group's ringleader decided to set the house on fire and started stacking pieces of wood before setting it alight.

Now all that remains of the property is four chimneys, its brick foundation and a small section of a brick wall.

Five of the men were arrested that same day on charges of arson, simple burglary and criminal damage worth more than $US50,000. Two others were charged with accessory to arson and trespassing.

Arson suspects wait to get in the sheriff's van to go to Parish Prison. Picture: FacebookSource:Supplied

The LeBeau Plantation House had a rich history - it once was "one of the largest plantations south of New Orleans" and has served as a private residence, hotel, boarding house and illegal casino.

But it also was attached to a number of cruel and ghostly stories.

Some accounts suggest slaves who worked at the plantation were beaten to death there - and their fellow slaves were forced to bury them in fields next to the house. This gave rise to ghost stories about the "spirits of dead slaves" who would haunt the house.

The most well-known ghost story tells of a "woman in a white dress" who could be seen roaming the home's upstairs balcony. Michelle Mahl Buuck, author of The Historic LeBeau Mansion: A Forgotten Monument, says people reported seeing the woman shining a light through a window even though the house's electricity had long been cut off.

Locals and historians are dismayed by the destruction.

Rita Gue, president of the Arlene and Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation which owns the land, said her family "is so saddened by this fire and we are anxious to see the investigation go forward and see what it is all about".

Local fire chief Thomas Stone said the house was "engulfed in fire" by the time his team arrived on the scene.

"It was total devastation. Every chief's worst nightmare is to have a historical structure destroyed in their community, and that is what happened here."